Brittany Claybrooks, a 32-year-old former East Orange councilwoman and the North Jersey political director of Andy Kim’s U.S. Senate campaign, will seek the Democratic nomination for Congress in New Jersey’s 10th district.
That sets up a contest with Newark City Council President LaMonica McIver, who has the support of the Essex County Democratic leaders and mayors for the seat held for nearly a dozen years by Rep. Donald Payne, Jr. (D-Newark) until his death on April 24.
“I think it’s time that we start to see fresh, young, new leadership, but also leadership that has been able to find a life in public service where challenging means a better outcome for people,” Claybrooks said. “I’m willing to go to Congress to fight to continue to deliver at the federal level the things that we need: transportation, the ability to live, work, and play here in a way that matters.”
Claybrooks left the Kim campaign on Monday to run in the July 16 special primary election to fill Payne’s unexpired term.
It’s not clear whether Kim will endorse Claybrooks or raise money for her, either right away or after his own Senate primary on June 4.
Kim’s campaign manager, Noah Dion, praised Claybrooks in a statement to the New Jersey Globe.
“Brittany is a fierce advocate for her community who was an invaluable voice on our campaign for change,” Dion said. “Her experience and dedication will be an important contribution to the conversation about the future of New Jersey’s 10th congressional district.”
The campaign for Payne’s seat is moving quickly. Gov. Phil Murphy ordered a special election on Friday, and the filing deadline is on May 10. Vote-by-mail ballots will start going out on June 1, less than a month from now.
A self-described progressive Democrat, Claybrooks said she has been inspired by congresswomen like Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), the former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Nikema Wiliams (D-Georgia), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing). She also praised Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), Payne, and Kim.
“I joined Andy Kim’s campaign because he was someone who I believed in, and I have not been wrong about that,” she said. “I’m extremely inspired by the movement he created about why it’s important for folks like us to go to Congress. And what people are trying to tell us through electing people who are continuously standing up and challenging things and who also have records of deliverance or delivery of resources.”
After Jacqueline Johnson declined to seek re-election in 2019, Claybrooks became a candidate for the open Ward 2 seat on the East Orange City Council. She had the backing of LeRoy Jones, Jr., the Democratic State Chairman and Essex County Democratic chairman, and also the East Orange Democratic municipal chairman.
Claybrooks, then 27, ran on the organization line and won the Democratic primary by a 60%-37% margin in a three-way race.
But by 2023, after disagreements with Jones and some Democrats over local issues, Claybrooks was not offered party support for a second term.
“I displayed the ability to stand up for what I believed was right,” she said. “Not being offered the line, I think it was a blessing in disguise because I got the opportunity to go off and explore what it looked like for me to move in this government space in a way that was true to me and that did not call for me to be something less than the courageous person that I was.”
A former intern for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation assigned to the House Democratic Cloakroom, worked for a non-profit and as a planning project manager for East Orange. After her election to the council, she became director of planning in Plainfield. She has a master’s degree in urban planning.
As a candidate for Congress, Claybrooks said she recognizes that the larger cities are the cornerstone of the 10th district.
“Affordable housing is important, and trying to maintain existing stock of housing is also important,” she said. “That’s what made me want to run.”
Regardless of Kim’s decision, Claybrooks says she can raise money on her own.
In a race against McIver, Claybrooks wants to run a clean campaign.
“To me, what a clean campaign looks like is one that is fair, where the process is fair, and where we discuss the issues,” Claybrooks explained. “I think it’s important to maintain focus on the issues of our district. People are looking for ways to continue to live affordably, to continue to have access to health care, childcare, and people just want to be able to live their lives and their part of the American dream in a way that is prosperous to them or in a way that that makes their lives better.”
Darryl Godfrey, the chief operations officer of the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority, is also expected to enter the race.